USS Augusta (SSN 710)

- decommissioned -

USS AUGUSTA was the 23rd LOS ANGELES - class fast attack submarine and the fifth ship in the Navy to bear the name Augusta, however, the first to be named for the capital of the state of Maine. AUGUSTA commenced her inactivation at Norfolk, Va., on April 15, 2008, and was decommissioned on February 11, 2009.

USS AUGUSTA is damaged in an undersea collision while on a routine training patrol in the Atlantic. No crew members are injured and the sub returns to Groton for $2.7 million worth of repairs by year's end. Reportedly it is unclear whether the submarine struck the ocean floor or an underwater object, but there was no risk of the submarine sinking or danger to the nuclear reactor. A DoD spokesman refuses to comment on a CBS news reports that the submarine "very possibly" collided with a Soviet submarine.

The photos below were taken by me and show the AUGUSTA laid-up at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash. Behind the AUGUSTA is her sistership GROTON (SSN 694) and the third sail belongs to the INDIANAPOLIS (SSN 697). The submarine on the left on the second photo is the NARWHAL (SSN 671). The photo was taken on March 14, 2010.

The photo below was taken by me and shows a number of decommissioned nuclear-powered attack submarines laid up at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash. The photo was taken from Port Orchard, Wash., on May 12, 2012. The submarines' names are on the photo.